Monthly Billing Estimates: The total cost of running cloud desktops using Amazon WorkSpaces will vary depending on your needs and configuration. If you use the resources described in the implementation guide for a full month, and choose the monthly billing option for your Amazon WorkSpaces, your cost will be about $412. This excludes the cost of bandwidth consumed accessing the public Internet from your Amazon WorkSpaces.

Service usage and cost: AWS pricing is based on your usage of each individual service. The total combined usage of each service will create your monthly bill. Explore the tabs below to learn what each service does and how it affects your bill.

Amazon WorkSpaces

Description: Amazon WorkSpaces is a fully managed, secure desktop computing service which runs on the AWS cloud. Amazon WorkSpaces allows you to easily provision cloud-based virtual desktops and provide your users access to the documents, applications, and resources they need from any supported device, including Windows and Mac computers, Chromebooks, iPads, Kindle Fire tablets, and Android tablets.

How Pricing Works: With Amazon WorkSpaces, you pay only for the Amazon WorkSpaces you launch. There is no up-front commitment and you can delete Amazon WorkSpaces at any time.

Amazon WorkSpaces provides the flexibility to pay monthly or hourly. With monthly billing, you pay a fixed monthly fee for unlimited usage during the month. With hourly billing you pay a small fixed monthly fee per Amazon WorkSpace to cover infrastructure costs and storage, and a low hourly rate for each hour the Amazon WorkSpace is used during the month.

There are three different bundles to choose from – Value, Standard, and Performance. Pricing includes compute, storage, software, and bandwidth between your Amazon WorkSpace and your Amazon WorkSpaces client application. Accessing the public Internet from your Amazon WorkSpace is charged separately at current rates, published in the “Data Transfer” section here. Please visit the Amazon WorkSpaces pricing page for more information.

Example: In this project, you’ll create two Amazon WorkSpaces, using the Performance bundle, paying hourly. In the US East (N. Virginia) Region, the hourly price for the Performance bundle is $0.57 plus a $13.00 monthly fee. Assuming that your Amazon WorkSpaces run for a total of 10 hours during this project, the total cost would be $37.40. Should you choose to pay monthly instead, your total cost would be $120. Note: the monthly fee for Amazon WorkSpaces is prorated for the remainder of the first month of usage.

AWS Directory Service: Microsoft AD

Description: AWS Directory Service is a managed Microsoft Active Directory (AD), powered by Windows Server 2012 R2. Microsoft AD allows you to manage user accounts and group memberships, create and apply group policies, domain-join Amazon EC2 instances, and provide Kerberos-based single sign-on (SSO). You can also use Microsoft AD to allow your users to authenticate to AWS Applications such as Amazon WorkSpaces, Amazon WorkDocs, or Amazon WorkMail.

How Pricing Works: When you create and launch an AWS Directory Service managed directory, such as Microsoft AD, you pay only for the type and size of directory you use. There is no up-front commitment and no minimum fee. You can delete your directories at any time.

Microsoft AD carries a charge of $0.40 per hour (in the US East (N. Virginia) Region). Simple AD and AD Connector are free for Amazon WorkSpaces customers. For more information, please visit the AWS Directory Services pricing page.

Example: In this project, you’ll create a single Microsoft AD managed directory that will result in a total monthly charge of about $292. This estimate was made with the assumption that the directory is based in the US East (N. Virginia) Region where the hourly price for Microsoft AD is $0.40. Note: Microsoft AD is eligible for a free trial, allowing you to use the service for free for 750 hours. For more information about the free trial, please visit the AWS Directory Services pricing page.